- CBT techniques
- Client-centered work
- Mindfulness skills
About Shirley
Shirley Cayko is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Montana with 18 years of professional experience. She focuses on stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, motivation, self-esteem, confidence, coping with life changes, grief, and anger. Shirley approaches sessions in a straightforward way and aims to help people get clearer about what is causing their distress.
Shirley uses client-centered methods to listen and respond to each person's concerns. She also uses cognitive behavioral strategies to spot patterns of thinking that increase anger or anxiety. Mindfulness ideas and elements of dialectical behavior therapy are part of her toolbox for managing intense feelings and building steady coping skills.
Sessions tend to focus on practical steps people can use between meetings. That might include small behavior changes, breathing or grounding practices, and ways to notice triggers before frustration builds. She works with people on relationship tensions, workplace frustration, and the lingering resentment that can come from loss or betrayal.
Shirley aims to adapt conversations and suggested exercises to each person’s situation. She balances short-term skills with a look at longer term patterns that keep problems coming back. The result is a mix of talking, skill practice, and planning useful next steps.
If you are thinking about getting help for anger, stress, or related struggles, Shirley offers a direct, practical approach designed to produce usable tools and clearer choices.
How her approaches translate to online work
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening and reflecting back what matters to the individual. In online sessions that means starting with what feels most urgent and shaping each meeting around the person's current concerns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and test small behavior changes. Online meetings can be used to teach these techniques and plan short experiments to try between sessions.Finding the right mix of methods is part of the process. Shirley will work with the person to decide whether CBT, client-centered work, or dialectical behavior skills fit best for their goals. That choice can shift as progress is made, so the approach stays practical and collaborative.
Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow for shorter check-ins when needed, or avoid travel time. Shirley uses structured exercises, skill practice, and problem-solving in remote meetings much as she would in person, with the aim of giving usable tools for managing anger, stress, and related problems.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
18+ years
Listed in
Montana
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, coping with life changes, grief, anger, bipolar disorder, and depression among other concerns.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
She uses a client-centered approach combined with cognitive behavioral techniques and mindfulness to help people notice triggers and try practical skills.
How many years has she been practicing?
She has 18 years of professional work experience as an LCSW in Montana.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is an LCSW licensed in Montana.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are sessions priced?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What are the steps to begin working together?
Use the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.